The weekend is not quite over but I feel as though I've spent hours and hours playing with crafts.
It started yesterday when I took Pam's class. We created a book of quotes made from patterned paper. The true artist in Pam shined yesterday. The class involved painting, inking and creating an accordian file to store our quotes in the most organized fashion. I enjoyed hearing Pam's insight on negative space and I got to use her awesome Fiskars fabric shears.
She had two types of fabric shears that cut oh-so beautifully into paper (what a difference between the lesser-expensive decorative scissors and these fabric shears...it's a nice clean cut and you are not fighting the paper to get the scissors to cut through it). And of course I spent the evening searching online seeking them and found both the wave and scalloped shaped shears. Although they are intended for fabric, mine will be dedicated to papercrafting. The only disadvantage for me is that they do not make them for lefties. So I awkwardly held them in my left hand but upside down. I've become accustomed to cutting in that fashion but it would be nice if there were decorative scissors for lefties.
I've also spent some time playing with Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels (and so has Carol, check it out!). I chose to take a scalloped board that I've been saving for a rainy day and applied gesso on it yesterday morning, then allowed it to dry all day. Last night I sprayed Glimmer Mist all over the board, several times, and blotting the mist. I consulted with Carol before I attempted this and she indicated that both gesso and Glimmer Mist are water-based product, so I need to be sure the gesso is dry before applying the Glimmer Mist.
And what I noticed when I applied the Glimmer Mist is that it doesn't seep into the gesso and the mist would pool on top of the board. This is why I blotted the mist with a paper towel.
This morning, I noticed how pretty the mist looked on the board. It glimmered and glistened and dried very nicely. I then took Heidi Swapp's damask mask and enhanced the shape with black acrylic paint. (I used only one mask and moved it around on the board.) I now have pretty damask shapes that glimmer and glisten.
Once the black acrylic paint dried, I decided to spray more Glimmer Mist. This time I didn't blot the mist with a paper towel. I just let it dry and achieved a really nice affect on the black acrylic paint. And the damask images sparkle but it's hard to capture it in the photos.
This was an entertaining experiment for me. I greatly appreciate my knowledgeable friends who encourage the creative process and help keep it circulating. My creative heart is pumping this weekend!
